


There Is No "I" In Team

by Scrabbleauthor



Category: RWBY
Genre: Canonical Character Death, F/M, Flashbacks, Friendship, Grief/Mourning, Guilt, Hurt/Comfort, Male-Female Friendship, Near Death Experiences, One Shot, Platonic Relationships, Romance, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-09-02 03:31:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16778752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scrabbleauthor/pseuds/Scrabbleauthor
Summary: They had won the battle of Haven and yet, Ruby didn't seem to act like it. Her mind goes back to Jaune and his constant insistence of protecting them by hurting himself. Each time, hurt more than the last. There is only so much she can take.





	There Is No "I" In Team

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr, some problems occurred that wouldn't allow the mobile users to read it. So, I'm posting it here as an alternative.  
> I don't use AO3 that much so do check out my Tumblr if you want to give me any story suggestions/requests. Fandoms I'll write for now are "Little Witch Academia" and "RWBY".
> 
> https://hjsdgce.tumblr.com/post/180597935403/can-i-request-a-short-story-of-ruby-talking-to

The train ride from Haven Academy to Atlas was a long one, the silence of the carriage only made it feel even more so. After the attack on Haven, Ruby was surprisingly quiet. Her usual positive attitude was a no-show today which worried many of the travelling band of waywards. The silver-eyed warrior looked out towards the snowy mountains, her heart filled with very unsettling feelings.

Just as she thought the silence of trip would continue, she heard the door behind her slide open, heavy boots stomped its way in. Ruby looked around to find Jaune, whom despite what happened in Haven Academy, looked less dishevelled than she was. However, she saw it clearly in his eyes; concern.

“Hey, Ruby…” Jaune started, breaking said silence. “How’s it going?”

“Jaune? What are you doing here? Your room isn’t till two doors right.” Ruby asked, curious of his position. Though, she was no fool. She could tell Jaune was here to meet her for something. With all her years living with Yang, she can tell a bit on body language.

Shuffling one’s feet, scratching at the nape, avoiding direct eye contact… No, he was staring directly at her. There was no fear, neither anxiousness nor embarrassment. “Ruby, Yang told me about you being cooped up in your room.”

“You wanna talk about it?” He added.

Talk about _it_? What _it_? There was no _it_. Everything was fine here!

Unfortunately, her own body betrayed her.

“I’m fine.” She replied, unintentionally louder than usual.

“That doesn’t sound fine…”

 **Oh** , so now he cared? Well, he always cared but… “I said, I’m fine. There’s nothing going on. I was just… thinking, I guess.”

Jaune, his eyes never once shifted from her, “This is about Haven, isn’t it?”

“I…”

Jaune moved forward, taking a seat next to her. Now, both of them were sitting on the same bed. If Yang was there, she’d make fun of this for days.

“Ruby, I’m your friend. No, more than just a friend. We’re _good friends_. We’ve been travelling for months together. Me, you, Nora and Ren, all of us. If there’s something wrong… Please, tell us.” he pleaded. Oh, darn it! Now he made her feel all bad inside.

Her shoulders slumped, her breathing erratic. “Jaune, tell me the truth. When we were at Haven and Cinder came, what were you thinking when you charged at her?”

“I…” Jaune closed his eyes, remembering that very moment. “I wanted to hurt her. I was so mad at what she did, that I wanted to hurt her badly.” Jaune stared at Ruby. “Is this it? Are you talking about my moral compass? Ruby, it’s fine. I’m not gonna go evil-”

“You left us.”

Jaune felt surprised. This was unexpected. Before he could say anything back, Ruby continued. “You left us and you nearly got killed.”

“… Ruby…”

“And then you got hurt, and Weiss got hurt, and just about everyone got hurt!” She snapped at Jaune, her eyes redder than usual. “What were you thinking?!”

“.. They came at us so suddenly and we were unprepared. I had to do something. I thought that maybe if I couldn’t beat her, I might as well buy you guys some time.” He answered. It was a reason per se, but motivated by two other factors; his anger towards the Fall Maiden and his concern over his friends.

But Ruby wasn’t having any of it. She stood up and ran to the centre of the room, turning around. “You left us, you big jerk! We could’ve fought together! But instead, you just had to be the hero and charge head-first, didn’t you?!”

“It was a moment’s choice! I didn’t have much to work with!”

“That’s a lie and you know it! You know darn well you can’t lie to me!”

“I’m not lying to you, Ruby! I was just trying to protect you! You and everyone else!” Now, Jaune started standing as well.

“I don’t need your protection, Jaune! I can take care of myself!”

“You got hurt too, Ruby! I could’ve done something but you still got hurt!”

“And what about you?! You got hurt first!”

“That’s fine. Even if I died, at least you guys would be okay-”

**_“IT’S NOT FINE!!!”_ **

Jaune, about to argue back, stopped. His eyes widened as he looked at Ruby’s pale face and saw tears flowing down her cheeks. He didn’t notice when it started, he was too caught up in the moment. “Ruby… I…”

**_“IT WASN’T FINE!!! YOU KEEP DOING THIS AND IT’S NOT FINE!!!”_ **

She looked down onto the floor, unable to bear looking at his worried face. “… Every time something dangerous happens, you’re always the first to charge in. And every time, I had to watch you get thrown around like some kind of messed up toy…”

“You matter to us. To me. When Pyrrha died, I couldn’t deal with it. Every day, I told myself that I have to protect my friends and yet, you keep putting yourself in danger. _Do you know how that feels?_ To be so helpless?”

As Ruby sobbed in her own tears, Jaune remembered something. A memory he had locked up in the deepest crevices of his mind and yet, he simply couldn’t forget.

_“I’m sorry.” she said as he watched her emerald eyes moved further away._

“… I’m sorry.” apologized the blonde knight. He walked closer and wrapped his arms around the little reaper. “I’m sorry that I made you worry. I’m sorry that I was an idiot that nearly got himself killed. I’ll never do it again. Next time, I’ll always wait for you.”

Ruby hugged back, her face burried in his chest. “Y-you will?”

_“I promise.”_


End file.
